Ethan Rilly’s POPE HATS is a throwback to the golden era of indie comic books—a time undreamed of when LOVE AND ROCKETS and EIGHTBALL and HATE and YUMMY FUR came out every two months or so, and the comics periodical was an actual discrete unit of entertainment. It’s also a reference to the finely observed, beautifully drawn comics…and yeah, it only comes out once a year or so, but it’s worth waiting for. The book follows law clerk Frances Scarland and her daily adventures in the perilous world of downtown Toronto.

POPE HATS #2 came out a year ago and since won the Doug Wright award and has been nominated for the Ignatz Award. And POPE HATS #3 will be out for this year’s SPX—and it’s a full 40 pages long.Here’s the blurb:

Working, working, working! Frances Scarland continues to search for a perfect balance in her career as a law clerk, where the only certainty seems to be flux. Yet she loses footing as her close friend Vickie rides an unrelated wave of opportunity. Pope Hats #3 offers the lengthiest installment yet in Rilly’s ongoing story about the give and take of professional success. With some extraneous strips and a new letters page.